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News International boss
Rupert Murdoch has waded into the row over the loan of a police horse to former News of the World editor
Rebekah Brooks, although his message of support on Twitter was given very short shrift by users.

Rupert Murdoch and Rebekah Brooks pictured in London last year before the latter’s resignation and arrest (Picture: EPA)

The Metropolitan police admitted yesterday it ‘fostered’ the retired police horse, named Raisa, with Mrs Brooks in 2008, who returned it in 2010.

News Corporation proprietor Mr Murdoch took to Twitter to defend his former protégé after she and Scotland Yard came in for fierce criticism after it emerged she returned the horse in a worse condition.

He tweeted: ‘Now they are complaining about R Brooks saving an old horse from the glue factory!’

As with most of Mr Murdoch’s tweets, the message prompted a furious response, with one user tweeting in reply: ‘Yes better to concentrate on impeding murder investigations? #gluefactoryforrupert’

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But despite Mr Murdoch’s claim Mrs Brooks saved the horse from the glue factory, after spending two years at the 43-year-old’s farm in Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire, Raisa returned to the force in a worse condition than when it left.

‘In 2007 a request was made by Rebekah Brooks to home a retired police horse,’ a Met spokesman said.

‘Mounted Branch conducted the normal property and welfare inspection, which was passed. As a result 22-year-old retired horse Raisa was loaned to Rebekah Brooks in 2008.

‘The MPS was contacted in early 2010 by an individual on behalf of Rebekah Brooks who asked the MPS to re-home Raisa, which was then 24, due to the horse no longer being ridden.

‘When the horse was returned, Raisa was regarded by officers from Mounted Branch to be in a poor but not serious condition.’

Raisa later died of natural causes, the Met added.

Disclosure of Scotland Yard loaning the horse to Mrs Brooks, who is married to racehorse trainer Charlie Brooks, while she was editor of the Sun came on the same day links between police and senior figures at News International titles were examined at the Leveson Inquiry.

Met police deputy assistant commissioner Sue Akers told the inquiry this week that there was a ‘culture’ of ‘illegal payments’ to police at the Sun newspaper.

Detectives on Operation Elveden, headed up by DAC Akers, are investigating possible offences of corruption, misconduct in public office and conspiracy.

A number of Sun employees and police officers, a member of the Ministry of Defence and a member of the armed forces have already been arrested.

Mrs Brooks herself was arrested and bailed last July in connection with phone hacking allegations, just days after she resigned as chief executive of News International, a position she held since 2009, having previously been editor of the Sun and the News of the World.